Fairview Housing Design Competition

​

“Nelchina Nexus” was a concept in cooperative housing development proposing adoption of the “Building Group” approach commonly used in Europe.  This approach creates more affordable housing by streamlining the project pre-development process and through applied use of in-kind labor by cooperative members.  It is a way of combating the prevailing market orientation toward housing as a mechanism to generate profits.  The Building Group approach emphasizes mutual support, sustainability and community resiliency.  The Fairview neighborhood is unique in that it has the gridded, small-blocks with alleys sub-division pattern inherent in traditional towns.  It’s proximity to the urban core allowed the project to meet the needs for work-force housing that is in increased demand. This concept maximized the current allowable lot coverage while at the same time creating a thoughtful and attractive work/live environment for its residents.

As part of Anchorage's continuing effort to generate new and innovative ways to provide quality and affordable housing around the community several sponsors developed and sponsored this unique design competition.  The Fairview COMP/Act, sponsored by Anchorage Museum, AEDC, Cook Inlet Housing Authority, the Municipality of Anchorage and the Rasmuson Foundation.

An important requirement of the competition was the inclusion of a resident of Fairview as part of the design team.  My teammate Allen is an active member of his neighborhood and offers these comments on the competition. “It was great working with Lawrence on this project. He was very receptive to design ideas coming from a lay person with no formal training in design.  His commitment to producing a quality and innovative design proposal was noticeable from the start.  I’m very pleased with our submission as it pushed the creative and practical envelopes of what is possible for affordable housing within our community.”